Australia Post probes link between contractors and cigarette smugglers

Australia Post is authorised to disclose information to investigative agencies, and made 4453 disclosures to commonwealth bodies in 2023-24, and another 1964 to state bodies.

It comes after Brisbane Times revealed many convenience stores and other outlets were selling illegally imported cigarettes under the counter – or sometimes in plain sight.

None were prepared to discuss their supply chains.

“They’re illegal … I don’t know where we get them, I’m not the manager,” one seller told this masthead.

Almost all stores sold Manchester cigarettes, and many also stocked Chinese brand Double Happiness, Korean brand ESSE, imported Marlboro Reds and Winfield Blues among others.

Prices ranged from $17 to $25 a pack – about 50 per cent cheaper than most legitimately taxed plain-packaging equivalents.

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During a 12-week regulatory blitz last year, more than 5.2 million cigarettes and 1.2 tonnes of loose tobacco were seized from Queensland retailers.

About 8500 illegal vapes and 12,000 nicotine pouches were also found at the tobacconists, convenience stores, gift shops and petrol stations.

Organised crime is believed to control about 75 per cent of the market, and police believe criminal elements are linked to a spate of firebombings in Queensland.

At least 350 retail businesses across Queensland are under investigation by Queensland Health, which is responsible for enforcing tobacco regulations. At least 13 businesses are being prosecuted in court.

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